Is the Thames Barrier due to fail?

This 2024, the Thames Barrier celebrated its 40th anniversary. It’s a 520 metre wide construction consisting of 10 gates that spans from Silvertown on the North Bank to New Charlton on the South bank, all roughly 8 miles downstream from central London. It was built to protect London from any tidal surge or freak flooding event that would threaten this cultural and economic center.

10 gates made of hollow steel, up to 40 millimetres thick, divide the river into six navigable spans. The central four gates are 61 metres wide, standing at 20 metres high, at a sturdy weight of 3700 tonnes. The others measure around half the size at 30 metres wide. These are supported by massive piers that house a wealth of key machinery that are vital to the operation of the barrier.

All of this complex machinery was built to prevent another tragedy like the North Sea Flood of 1953. The disaster took the lives of 300 people, and caused around a billion pounds worth of damage in today’s money. Without the Thames Barrier, London could very well be facing down another flood that would put the heart of the country in extreme danger.

At the time of its completion, its effective life expectancy was estimated to be anywhere between 2030 to 2070. But the world of today is not the world it was originally built for. With sea levels on the rise as the climate emergency grows, can the Thames Barrier still keep London safe?